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Members of Black community speak out after African Canadian Legal Clinic defunded

Legal Aid Ontario board of directors’ committee decided to defund the clinic because it failed to meet conditions imposed in 2014 to address financial mismanagement and poor governance.

Margaret Parsons of the African Canadian Legal Clinic rejected the audit’s finding that $120,000 set aside for vacant staff positions was, instead, used to give her bonuses over a four-year period (Aaron Vincent Elkaim / THE CANADIAN PRESS file photo)

By Vicky MochamaMay WarrenMetro

Thu., Aug. 17, 2017

Following Legal Aid Ontario’s decision to defund the African Canadian Legal Clinic, members of the Black community are speaking out.

They include members of a panel consulting on the creation of a replacement clinic.

A committee of the Legal Aid Ontario board of directors decided to defund the clinic Wednesday because it failed to meet eight conditions imposed in 2014 to address financial mismanagement and poor governance.

Lawyer Roger Rowe called the turn of events “disappointing.”

“It’s real hard to get official funding for something that helps Black people, it’s real hard,” he said. “But it is what it is: There’s financial accountability that has to be addressed.”

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Rowe is one of six Black Canadians advising Legal Aid on developing the new organization and ensuring there’s no disruption of legal services to the community. Other panel members include Black Lives Matter founder Sandy Hudson and Zanana Akande, the first Black woman elected to the Ontario legislature.

There’s no timeline for the new clinic, said Akande, who explained that new board members will be chosen by the community. In the meantime, clients can rely on the Human Rights Legal Support centre, members of the private bar and Legal Aid’s test case program.

Metro reported earlier this month that the African Canadian Legal Clinic’s funding was in jeopardy due to concerns dating back to 2009.

A 2013 audit by independent firm PwC found unusual purchases on a company credit card, including $754 for a diamond ring, charged by executive director Margaret Parsons, who provided no evidence to back up her claim she had paid it back.

Parsons rejected the audit’s finding that $120,000 set aside for vacant staff positions was instead used to give her bonuses over a four-year period.

Parsons did not respond to a request for comment on the decision.

In a previous interview with Metro, she denied any financial wrongdoing and said the clinic had been held to a “double standard” and treated unfairly by Legal Aid since it started in 1994.

Julian Falconer, who has represented Legal Aid in the matter, urged members of the community to look at the documents posted on the organization’s website, including the PwC audit.

“This is not a happy day, but I think it’s a necessary exercise,” he said.

“What we have to do is keep our eye on the ball, which is the needs or the unmet needs of very vulnerable people.”

Tiffany Gooch, a strategist for government relations firm Enterprise, said much of the conversation boils down to Parsons being a “lightning rod” for the community.

“A lot of the issues were coming back to her, and the institution couldn’t seem to separate itself from her. I do believe mistakes were made. This is more a death-by-a-thousand cuts situation, rather than one anywhere,” she said.

“I think we, as a community, need to have a larger conversation about transitional leadership,” she added.

Criminal defence lawyer Annamaria Enenajor was surprised by the decision.

“Even though there’s a promise to ensure that there will be no disruption in legal services to Black Ontarians, it’s troubling for me that you see the disbanding of an organization, rather than the leadership that was problematic,” said Enenajor.

“Why reinvent the wheel, unless it’s so rotten to the core?”

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